Stories of a Stranger...

Although combining live music and storytelling, Stories of a Stranger could be best characterised as a theatrical piece. The fact that the narrator is only present as a shadow of a stranger on the other side of a screen creates a mesmerising atmosphere that takes the audience to the heart of the story–along the nightmarish streets, grim bars and cheap hotel rooms where the Stranger tries to piece together his past to open up his future.

The pauses between chapters of the Stranger’s monologue are filled with live music which sometimes starts while he is still speaking. However, the muffling suits the narration, as the Stranger's story is filled with the noise and the crowds of the city. The band playing ambient music is excellent. During the breaks in the narration, the lights are dimmed and black-and-white photos flicker on the screen. The photos of cityscapes and scenes of urban life carry signs of sadness and loss, but many of these also contain a glimpse of hope, depicting paths that lead beyond the horizon, perhaps to the future the Stranger is hoping to have.

Although the merging of photography, music and narration may seem self-conciously avant-garde, this format is a genuinely great idea, enabling the Stranger simply to tell the story and the band to enhance the mood surrounding it.